Three people have been hospitalised and as many as 40 more have been evacuated after a suspected gas explosion ripped through a home near Bristol.
The house in Yate was burnt almost completely to the ground during a fire which broke out following the blast earlier this morning.
Around 40 people have been evacuated from the area, with a refuge centre set up nearby to the incident on Lancaster Road, Avon and Somerset Police said.
One neighbour, Neil Lewis, told the BBC he initially saw the flames shortly before 7am on Tuesday.
The house was burnt to the ground during a fire which broke out following the blast
PA
"I thought I'd call in to see what it was and if anyone needed help," he said. "The house has gone up, it looks like an explosion."
"There's debris everywhere and people in the street. I'm not sure if it was the neighbours or the people in the house, but it looked like they were being cared for. They looked in shock, in distress."
Meanwhile, local Liberal Democrat councillor Alan Monaghan said he was watching TV when he thought he heard a "door slam" upstairs in his house.
"It's unbelievable. I can see a house which has been engulfed and we can see the fire service doing the best to save the house, but struggling."
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The explosion and subsequent fire appears to have ripped a hole into the wall of a neighbouring home
PA
He added that he had seen people in their dressing gowns being escorted out of their homes by "impressive" emergency service personnel.
"A lot of residents are out in utter shock. They can't believe it's happening. Some people are quite distressed," he said.
The trio taken to hospital are not thought to have suffered life threatening injuries - and a fourth person had to be treated by ambulance services at the scene.
Further images from the aftermath of the blast and fire show a gaping hole in the side of a neighbouring property - as well as a car having been destroyed after being hit by bricks and falling rubble.
A car was destroyed after being hit by bricks and falling rubble
PA
"We were called at 6.53am to reports of a gas explosion in a residential home on Lancaster Road, Yate this morning," Avon Fire and Rescue Service said.
"The explosion caused a fire, which has now been safely extinguished. A cordon has been put in place.
"Local people are asked to avoid the area while we deal with the incident."
